Singapore’s Hdb Flats And Melbourne Apartments Lead Region Home Ownership Attainability Uli
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According to the latest market report published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the residential markets of HDB flats in Singapore and apartments in Melbourne are the only two in the Asia Pacific region where homes can be purchased for less than five times the median income. The report, titled “ULI Asia Pacific Home Attainability Index”, evaluates the affordability of homes in each market based on whether the median home price is less than five times the median annual income and if the median monthly rent is no more than 30% of median monthly income.
The report highlights that in Singapore, the median prices of HDB flats in 2024 were 4.3 times the median annual income, while private home prices were significantly higher at 16.9 times the median annual income. However, the number of completed HDB flats entering the market has slowed in recent years, which has led to a decrease in overall attainability in the public housing market compared to 2022, when the median annual household income was 3.7 times.
The increasing prices of HDB flats in the resale market and the rise in the number of resale flats sold for over $1 million were major talking points during the recent general election in Singapore. In response to these concerns, the government has introduced policies to increase the supply of new HDB flats over the next two years and provide more subsidies for middle- and lower-income buyers.
The report also mentions other key cities in the Asia Pacific region, with Hong Kong being one of them. While the price-to-income ratio for apartments in the city has improved from 26.5 to 23.4 in 2024, rental affordability has worsened, with median rent accounting for 72% of median monthly income in 2024, as compared to 70% in 2022 and 69% in 2023. This is primarily due to an influx of mainland Chinese professionals into Hong Kong, as the local government approved around 92,000 applications under the Top Talent Pass Scheme last year.
In addition, the aftermath of the housing bubble collapse in China in 2021 is still being felt, with price-to-income ratios remaining high – between 20 and 23 times in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and 10 to 17 times in other key cities. As of March, the commercial housing stock has reached 421.58 million sqm, equivalent to approximately four to six million residential homes, according to ULI. This figure does not include distressed assets such as mortgage defaults and unfinished projects.
ULI’s research suggests that larger cities may eventually absorb the excess supply of housing, while lower-tier cities may struggle to recover due to weak demand, struggling local economies, and stagnant population growth.